3 WDW Trips in 6 months: "Wet Christmas" December TR- update 2/3

[meeko_33785]

Welcome! With three different trips in various states of planning though the end of the year, I thought I’d combine them all together into one report. Before we get to the trips though, let’s start with the cast:



Meeko- College student/ author for this trip report. I’m probably the biggest planner of the group. I like to make sure we have a good itinerary and details worked out before we get to the parks. I love taking pictures at WDW, and you will likely see many of them throughout the pre-trip and trip reports. I also really enjoy meeting the characters and usually like to find and get photos and autographs from a few new ones every trip (if possible). I’ll be going on all three trips, of course.
Favorite Disney Movie: Beauty and the Beast. Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom. Favorite Attraction: Tower of Terror


Buzz- My twin brother/ friend/ fellow Disney fan. Buzz is an artist and works primarily in photography so he also really likes taking photos in the park (which will not be posted here though; he’s very protective on where his art gets posted). He has an interest in animation, especially Disney and PIXAR. He also loves animals and puppetry (especially the Muppets). Buzz will be going on all three trips.
Favorite Disney Movie: Toy Story. Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom. Favorite Attraction: Splash Mountain


Mom- My and Buzz's mother. Mom loves learning about cultures and history, so World Showcase at EPCOT is definitely one of her favorite places in WDW. She also really enjoys going to all the different restaurants in the parks and resorts and also taking time to relax at Disney and doing some of the easily-overlooked things in the parks like the Main Street Vehicles, etc. Mom will be going on the August and December trips.
Favorite Disney Movie: Sleeping Beauty. Favorite Park: EPCOT or Animal Kingdom. Favorite Attraction: Doesn’t have one


Dad- My and Buzz's father. Dad is really into the relaxing aspects of the trip. Our running joke in the family is that if you can’t find Dad when you’re at Disney, he’s probably on a bench somewhere. He’s also interested in gardening and is our family’s Tim Burton/ Nightmare Before Christmas fan. He can be a little goofy sometimes, but he’s not bad. Dad will be going on the August and December trips.
Favorite Disney Movie: Nightmare Before Christmas. Favorite Park: Doesn’t have one. Favorite Attraction: Soarin’



And for the trips….


Days of Discovery- August 2009 Trip


Our family summer vacation to WDW including three nights at Port Orleans Riverside and visits to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, Downtown Disney and Port Orleans French Quarter.



Pre-Trip Report

• Introduction (Post #8)
• Riverside Photos- 2003 (Post #23)
• Dining and ADRs (Post #24)
• Potential Firsts and Re-Discoveries (Post #29)
• 10 Year Flashback Mini Trip Report- July 1999 (Post #37, Post #41, and Post #42)
• Plans and Priorities (Post #50)
• Characters (Post #54)
• Busch Gardens Trip Report (Post #58 and Post #59)
• Trip Mix Tape (Post #84)
• Wrap Up (Post #88)

Trip Report

• Introduction (Post #92)

• Day One, Part One- Arrival and Riverside (Post #97)
• Day One, Part Two- Lots of Shops But No Boat Ride (Post #101)
• Day One, Part Three- Bongos and Didgeridoos (Post #105)
• Day One, Part Four- More Marketplace (Post #111)

• Day Two, Part One- Animal Kingdom at Last! (Post #121)
• Day Two, Part Two- Why Did the Giraffe Cross the Road? (Post #131)
• Day Two, Part Three- Africa Character Greeting Trails (Post #134)
• Day Two, Part Four- Exploring and Eating in Anandapur (Post #139)
• Day Two, Part Five- The Adventure Continues (Post #142)
• Day Two, Part Six- Good Times at Camp Minnie-Mickey (Post #148)
• Day Two, Part Seven- Hi Eeyore... I Mean... (Post #158)
• Day Two, Part Eight- Rain and a Rainbow (Post #163)

• Day Three, Part One- My Bag!!! Where's My Bag!?! (Post #168)
• Day Three, Part Two- Goofy Thinks That He’s Zoolander (Post #174)
• Day Three, Part Three- Blue Skies and Distractions (Post #180)
• Day Three, Part Four- (Somewhat) Starting a Kim Possible Mission (Post #186)
• Day Three, Part Five- Adventures in France (Post #195)
• Day Three, Part Six- Still Wet in World Showcase (Post #198)
• Day Three, Part Seven- Clouds Clear and Characters Reappear (Post #202)
• Day Three, Part Eight- Sounds Like Summer (Post #204)
• Day Three, Part Nine- The Last Evening (Post #206)

• Day Four, Part One- Beignets for Breakfast (Post #220)
• Day Four, Part Two- The Last Moments (Post #223)

• End-of-Trip Reflections (Post #227)

**************


Happy Birthday- October 2009 Trip


Buzz and my quick Birthday trip including a one-night stay at All Star Movies Resort (a first for us) and trips to Magic Kingdom, the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, The Boardwalk, Downtown Disney and All Star Music Resort


Pre-Trip Report

• Introduction (Post #14)
• Dining and ADRs (Post #78)
• Potential Firsts and Re-Discoveries (Post #153)
• Tickets and Mix Tape (Post #164)
• Plans and Priorities (Post #179)
• Characters (Post #189)
• Single Digit Updates (Post #203)
• Wrap Up (Post #211)

Trip Report

• Trip Report Preview (Post #215)
• Introduction (Post #233)

• Day One, Part One- Arriving at All Star Movies (Post #238)
• Day One, Part Two- Good Mornin'! (Post #246)
• Day One, Part Three- Fantasyland Favorites (Post #251)
• Day One, Part Four- My Arrival Day at Pixie Hollow (Post #256)
• Day One, Part Five- Snow White and the White Rabbit (Post #259)
• Day One, Part Six- Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! (Post #269)
• Day One, Part Seven- Almost a Double Mountain Whammy (Post #272)
• Day One, Part Eight- Fast Food and Fast Passes (Post #275)
• Day One, Part Nine- Celebrate A Dream Come True (Post #281)
• Day One, Part Ten- Returning to The Hall of Presidents (Post #289)
• Day One, Part Eleven- Halloween in Toontown (Post #297)
• Day One, Part Twelve- A Philharmagical Finale (Post #301)
• Day One, Part Thirteen- All Star Birthday Dinner (Post #307)

• Day Two, Part One- From the Movies to Broadway (Post #318)
• Day Two, Part Two- More Music and Movies (Post #323)
• Day Two, Part Three- A Birthday Celebration with Characters (Post #329)
• Day Two, Part Four- On the Boardwalk (Post #341)
• Day Two, Part Five- The Birthday Trip Ends (Post #350)

• End-of-Trip Reflections (Post #355)

**************


Wet Christmas- December 2009 Trip


A Holiday trip with the family with three nights at Port Orleans French Quarter and visit tp Disney’s Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, the Contemporary Resort, and Port Orleans Riverside.


Pre-Trip Report

• Introduction (Post #18)
• 10 Year Flashback Mini Trip Report- December 1999 (Post #67 and Post #72)
• A French Quarter Christmas (Post #243)
• Dining and ADRs (Post #262)
• Potential Firsts and Re-Discoveries (Post #292)
• A Very Merry Mix Tape (Post #311)
• Characters (Post #334)
• Plans and Priorities (Post #347)
• Christmas at Busch Gardens (Post #356)
• Wrap Up (Post #360)

Trip Report

• Introduction (Post #361)

• Day One, Part One- Down in Port Orleans (Post #366)
• Day One, Part Two- Christmas at Riverside (Post #376)
• Day One, Part Three- A Taste of the Magic Kingdom (Post #385)
• Day One, Part Four- “Holiday Fun” and Dinner at The Wave (Post #391)

• Day Two, Part One- From the French Quarter to Hollywood (Post #396)
• Day Two, Part Two- Morning Mania (Post #407)
• Day Two, Part Three- Waiting and Waiting and Waiting... (Post #413)
• Day Two, Part Four- 50s Prime Time and Muppet Time (Post #430)

**************

[DWGal210]

Great start so far!! 3 trips in one year - you are a very lucky traveler! Looking forward to hearing more!

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Meeko!

Thanks for the PM! 3 trips????!!!!! I'm so jealous!!!!

You'll be able to give me a review of POR as that's more than likely where we will be next year!

Can't wait to hear all about it!!!!

Di x

[meeko_33785]

Originally Posted by DWGal210

Great start so far!! 3 trips in one year - you are a very lucky traveler! Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks. Welcome aboard and I hope you'll enjoy the report.

Originally Posted by Dr_Finkelstein

Hi Meeko!

Thanks for the PM! 3 trips????!!!!! I'm so jealous!!!!

You'll be able to give me a review of POR as that's more than likely where we will be next year!

Can't wait to hear all about it!!!!

Di x

Hey Diane. Glad that you're back.

Hopefully it will be a very good review of POR. Its one of our favorite Disney resorts as a family. Haven't been there in a while, so we're looking forward to going again.

[RobinHoodGirl]

I'm interesting to see how you guys do... While mine aren't for a while I seemed to get myself in the position of 3 trips in one year (Feb 2010, Nov 2010 and maybe Feb 2011).

Can't wait to read more about your planning!

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Originally Posted by RobinHoodGirl

I'm interesting to see how you guys do... While mine aren't for a while I seemed to get myself in the position of 3 trips in one year (Feb 2010, Nov 2010 and maybe Feb 2011).

Can't wait to read more about your planning!

OK, now I'm really jealous! My 1 trip every 2 years just seems to pale in comparison - I need to get a job in central Florida - are they currently looking for nurses and midwives???

Di x

[meeko_33785]

Originally Posted by RobinHoodGirl

I'm interesting to see how you guys do... While mine aren't for a while I seemed to get myself in the position of 3 trips in one year (Feb 2010, Nov 2010 and maybe Feb 2011).

Can't wait to read more about your planning!

Wow, that's a lot of trips in one year too, especially from New Jersey. You have a lot farther to go than we do. Thanks for reading and responding. Hope you'll stick around for the ride.

Originally Posted by Dr_Finkelstein

OK, now I'm really jealous! My 1 trip every 2 years just seems to pale in comparison - I need to get a job in central Florida - are they currently looking for nurses and midwives???

Di x

Good luck finding a job as a nurse or midwife around here Di. You'll be battling all the nursing students at University of Central Florida and University of South Florida for that position. I've got to admit though, 1 trip every 2 years is nothing to sneeze at.

[meeko_33785]

I thought that I’d start the August section of the pre-trip with a brief overview of the trip. This will be what has become our family’s annual summer vacation to WDW. Since Buzz and I are growing up, none of us are sure how many of these trips we have left, but we’ve decided to enjoy the ones we have. Here’s a brief look at the places we are planning on visiting with photos from past trips:


Port Orleans Riverside:


This will be our resort for the trip. It’s one of our favorites as a family, but it seems like it’s been a while since we stayed here. I think that it has been 5 or 6 years. I’m excited about it, but actually I’m excited to be staying anywhere other than Pop Century. Don’t get me wrong, Pop Century is great, but we’ve stayed there for our last three stays. It will be great to experience something else. This will also be the first time I’ve been back since I switched from film cameras to digital cameras, so I hope to be able to get a lot of pictures while we’re there.

Downtown Disney:


We’ve been looking into spending an evening at Downtown Disney, which we haven’t done as a family on our last few trips. There was talk about maybe trying the new hot air balloon ride they have at West Side, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen or not. We definitely want to take the boat ride that goes from Port Orleans to Downtown Disney (love doing that) and also have dinner over there. Still deciding where to eat, but we’re thinking Bongo’s or House of Blues. More on that when we start nailing down ADRs, which will hopefully be soon.


Disney’s Animal Kingdom:


On to the theme parks! We definitely want to go to the Animal Kingdom this year since we missed it last year. This is another place I want to try to get a lot of photos at. Surprisingly I never seem to take that many when we’re here, which is surprising considering the park is so beautiful. Hopefully this year will be different in that respect. We’re also planning on having lunch at the new Yak and Yetti restaurant in Asia since it’s new and we’ve never tried it.


EPCOT:


The other park we want to go to for this trip is EPCOT. We don’t have a lot of plans so far. We know that we want to try some of the missions on new the Kim Possible thing in World Showcase and maybe the new Canada movie since we missed it last year. From what we’ve seen of it, it looks like fun. We’re also hoping to get ADRs for Chefs de France so we’ll be able to see the little animatronic Remy that will be there over the summer.

Port Orleans French Quarter:


As long as we’re next-door at Riverside, we figured that we might as well come over to the French Quarter for a visit, if for no other reason than to have some beignets one morning. Plus, the resort is so pretty that it’s worth a little bit of a walk to get there.


That's pretty much the plan for now. More to come as we keep planning.

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Originally Posted by meeko_33785

Good luck finding a job as a nurse or midwife around here Di. You'll be battling all the nursing students at University of Central Florida and University of South Florida for that position. I've got to admit though, 1 trip every 2 years is nothing to sneeze at.

My dreams shot down in flames.........

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Meeko!

All the plans sound good so far - am looking forward to the photos of Riverside, we're really looking forward to staying there next year.

Yak and Yeti was our favourite restaurant, the honey chicken was just gorgeous!

The balloon ride will not be an option for us as I am terrified of heights and that just sounds like torture to me (well, am not actually scared of heights, it's the falling to my death that terrifies me). But the boat trip to DTD is lovely - it will be interesting to see the treetop villas now they are finished.

As for the POFQ visit - how could you not go for the beignets???? Have I mentioned I love the little deep fried icing sugar covered bites of heaven? And as you say the resort is just beautiful, and the riverside walk is lovely - very peaceful.

Di x

[meeko_33785]

Originally Posted by Dr_Finkelstein

Hi Meeko!

All the plans sound good so far - am looking forward to the photos of Riverside, we're really looking forward to staying there next year.

Yak and Yeti was our favourite restaurant, the honey chicken was just gorgeous!

The balloon ride will not be an option for us as I am terrified of heights and that just sounds like torture to me (well, am not actually scared of heights, it's the falling to my death that terrifies me). But the boat trip to DTD is lovely - it will be interesting to see the treetop villas now they are finished.

As for the POFQ visit - how could you not go for the beignets???? Have I mentioned I love the little deep fried icing sugar covered bites of heaven? And as you say the resort is just beautiful, and the riverside walk is lovely - very peaceful.

Di x

Thanks Di. I'll likely be posting some photos of Riverside from past trips as well before we go. They'll all be scans though. I can't wait to go back there with a digital camera!

Yak and Yeti does sound good. I've been looking over the menu and some reviews and I don't know how I'm going to pick what to get. So many things sound good.

It should be interesting to see if we actually do the balloon ride. Mom's not too big on heights either (I'm not crazy about them, but I'm fine if I feel secure), so I was really surprised when she was the one to suggest going on it. Nobody has mentioned it since, so we might have to figure out whether this is something that we're really interested in next time we all see each other. And I hadn't even thought abou the Treehouse Villas being finished. Now I'm even more excited about the boat ride than I already was.

I really like beignets too! I'm a little spoiled because I got to spend a few days in New Orleans and have beignets in the real French Quarter, but the ones at Disney are good too. Plus, beignets at Port Orleans is one of our oldest withstanding family traditions at Disney so we should do it.

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Originally Posted by meeko_33785

Thanks Di. I'll likely be posting some photos of Riverside from past trips as well before we go. They'll all be scans though. I can't wait to go back there with a digital camera!

Yak and Yeti does sound good. I've been looking over the menu and some reviews and I don't know how I'm going to pick what to get. So many things sound good.

It should be interesting to see if we actually do the balloon ride. Mom's not too big on heights either (I'm not crazy about them, but I'm fine if I feel secure), so I was really surprised when she was the one to suggest going on it. Nobody has mentioned it since, so we might have to figure out whether this is something that we're really interested in next time we all see each other. And I hadn't even thought abou the Treehouse Villas being finished. Now I'm even more excited about the boat ride than I already was.

I really like beignets too! I'm a little spoiled because I got to spend a few days in New Orleans and have beignets in the real French Quarter, but the ones at Disney are good too. Plus, beignets at Port Orleans is one of our oldest withstanding family traditions at Disney so we should do it.

Hi Meeko,

I just noticed (bit slow, eh?!) that you and Buzz are twins! Are you identical? I always think it's amazing that I see and meet twins all the time now, while before I had twins I hardly ever saw any! Probably just more aware now though.

The menu for Yak&Yeti is lovely, I had a hard time choosing, I see you can now get a picnic using the dining plan at AK - I think we'll be doing that!

I saw photos from Tree top Villas that were posted on DIS and they look really lovely, and much bigger than I thought they would be when we went past them last year.

The biegnets sound like a good family tradition to have, I may borrow that idea!

Look forward to seeing some old photos of POR! Anymore ideas for ADRs?

Di x

[meeko_33785]

Originally Posted by Dr_Finkelstein

Hi Meeko,

I just noticed (bit slow, eh?!) that you and Buzz are twins! Are you identical? I always think it's amazing that I see and meet twins all the time now, while before I had twins I hardly ever saw any! Probably just more aware now though.

The menu for Yak&Yeti is lovely, I had a hard time choosing, I see you can now get a picnic using the dining plan at AK - I think we'll be doing that!

I saw photos from Tree top Villas that were posted on DIS and they look really lovely, and much bigger than I thought they would be when we went past them last year.

The biegnets sound like a good family tradition to have, I may borrow that idea!

Look forward to seeing some old photos of POR! Anymore ideas for ADRs?

Di x

Yeah, Buzz and I are identical twins. I hadn't mentioned it in any of my previous reports, but figured that bit of information would explain why our birthdays are on the same day when we go in October.

I just looked up the photos of the Villas on the DIS. They look nice. It will be cool to see them. Back when they were closed and empty it always looked a little sad. It will be nice to see them looking alive again instead of abandoned.

POR photos are coming as soon as I can scan them. I might have some as early as next week. As for ADRs, we should be nailing those down pretty soon. It's looking like we'll be doing Bongo's, Yak and Yeti and Chefs de France and then doing counter services for the rest of the trip.

[meeko_33785]

Next, I thought I’d do a quick overview on Buzz and my plans for our October trip. We’ll be celebrating our birthday at Disney for the first time in a long time. Back when our family first started taking trips to Disney when Buzz and I were babies, we use to do one-day visits to Magic Kingdom on or around our birthday. As we got older, we stopped going to Disney on birthdays and started taking longer, overnight trips in the summer and Christmastime when we were off-school. This year, however, when Buzz and I found out about the “What Will You Celebrate?” promotion and free admission on birthdays, we knew we couldn’t pass this up! It should be fun the two of us to revisit this old tradition as grown-ups.

Here's a bit of what the trip is looking like so far:


All Star Movies Resort:

Buzz and I have reservations for one night at the All Star Movies resort. This will be our first time here. We’ve tried getting in a few times before, but they’ve always been booked. We got a great deal too- 40% off! Not bad! When making the reservation, I requested the Toy Story building since Buzz is such a Toy Story fan. Hopefully we’ll get in there. Either way, I’m looking forward to experiencing a new resort.


Magic Kingdom:


Since our tradition as kids was to come to the Magic Kingdom on our birthday, it only seems fitting to go here. Plus, since it’s Buzz and my favorite park and we’ll be skipping it in August, we’ve got all the more reason to go. We haven’t really talked much about what we want to do at the park yet, but I know I want to check out Pixie Hallow since I missed it in December (must get there at opening before the line gets ridiculously long) and I was thinking about the newly re-themed 3pm parade and the re-Imagineered Hall of Presidents since it will be open by then. I don’t think we’ve even thought about meals here yet. Not sure if Buzz wants to do counter service or a sit-down restaurant.



Beach Club/ Boardwalk:


I really want to do a character meal this trip since we don’t do many, so it looks like we might be trying the breakfast at Cape May Café. I had suggested the dinner at 1900 Park Fare to Buzz, but I don’t think he wanted to spend his birthday dinner with Cinderella and her stepfamily (I think it would be a lot of fun, but oh well). Cape May looks like it has more characters that Buzz would be interested in seeing and it’s cheaper- which is two big plusses for Buzz. While we’re there, we were thinking of exploring the Beach Club and Boardwalk after breakfast. The Boardwalk is my favorite Disney resort, so any excuse to visit works for me.



We’ve still got months to go until this trip, so things may change. I’m already excited about the trip. It looks like it will be so much fun. I’ll be posting more info as it comes.

[Dr_Finkelstein]

*cough cough* notice anything different about me today?



Will be back later to read the new update.